Spare Magazine or not Backcountry Sidearm

[awbowhunter]

The Glock ten mm does not require or need an aftermarket barrel. Just clean it.

During a bear attack, I don’t think swapping a mag is a realistic option.

Thanks for this post. I just read on Buffalo bore's website hard cast is not an issue in glock barrels. I had read multiple places it was. Pure lead bullets I guess is a different story. According to buffalo bore thier hard cast is good to go in a glock barrel

 

[Loo.wii]

Hey everyone and thank you for your time. This is my first post since I am new to backcountry hunting and online forums.

My current debate is how much sidearm ammo do you carry with you. I’ve seen a lot of posts on whether or not you should or shouldn’t carry a sidearm and what the sidearm should or shouldn’t be. What I want to ask is how many rounds do you bring IF you choose to carry a sidearm. What sparked this thought is a recent article from Georgia where a guy was attacked by three dogs. He was not carrying a sidearm and had almost 300 puncture wounds. Putting myself in that situation with a Glock 20 and 15 rounds I would assume I could eliminate the threat to my life. However what would I have left after the encounter? In a situation a few miles from a road could I safely navigate my way back and continue to defend myself if the rest of the “pack” showed up? I choose to carry a Glock 20 with an rmr as my sidearm. I conceal carry a Glock 19 and used a 19 during my time in the Army. I’m very familiar with the platform hence why I carry it over an arguable more ballistically superior revolver round.

The question to answer is, if you decided to carry a Glock 20 would the 15 round magazine be enough or would you carry a second magazine bringing the total to 30 rounds.

I choose to stick with stock magazines in order to avoid potential reliability issues from aftermarket magazines.

Thank you all!
Markus

one fully loaded mag and one extra. if you need more than 31 rounds plus whats in your rifle your time might be up.

 

[HawkCreek]

I carry a 10mm Glock most of the time outdoors. If I'm backpacking I may have a spare mag, I won't if I'm hunting. It's just extra weight. If I do get lost/attacked or whatever a 15 round mag gives me one string of SOS shots, 1 round to finish of a wounded animal (I rifle hunt) and 5 spare rounds for whatever. That's in addition to however many rounds are in my rifle at the time.

 

[Trial153]

I only bow hunt. I got to the point where I only carry in Grizzly county in the lower 48 and in Alaska. The only magazine I carry is the one in the gun.

 

[LoggerDan]

@awbowhunter

mine is good for one full magazine and towards the end of I do feel a tangible increase of pressure through a snappier recoil, if that makes any sense. Then a quick scrub and it’s back to where it “feels“ normal.
A few times I have tried to fire two magazines, and midway through the second, I definitely notice more going on!
Like you, I’d heard horror stories about Glock barrels. And also like you, I checked buffalo bore and read what he found. I take his word over most “gun writers”.

On another note, I’ve also read by knowlegable men that technically, there is no such thing as “hard cast”. Just varying percentages of lead and tin and linotype.
I’ve burned three boxes of Buffalo Bore 220 outdoorsman cast, and that’s all I want to spend for practice! For practice, I use a lot of 40 s&w or whatever else is cheap in 10 mil, which really ain’t cheap!

 

[SWOHTR]

One mag in the gun.

I read some posts and opinions and wonder if some people expect and want to get into gunfights?

I mean, “we all knew it was going to be a gun fight.”

 

[Tmac]

I read some posts and opinions and wonder if some people expect and want to get into gunfights?

I mean, “we all knew it was going to be a gun fight.”

I didn’t get that take. But the last thing I want to do is bring a knife to a gun fight.

 

[Cowbell]

If I have a pistol...

I have one mag with hollow points for humans and one mag with hard cast for 4-legged. I will usually leave the hollow point mag in my vehicle while out in the field and swap back once at the vehicle.

When hunting solo on or near the border I will have a pistol on me and typically will have two magazines. This is based upon a prior experience where doing so saved my ass. But if hunting with others, only the rifle goes into the field (unless I bring along my LCP II in 380 which weighs nothing including two mags).

Would love to here this story as I hunt on the border a lot

 

[sacklunch]

I didn’t get that take. But the last thing I want to do is bring a knife to a gun fight.

Lots of gunfights in the National Forrest that we're not hearing about? More likely that some dude from PA with a muzzleloader mistakes a bowhunter for an elk.

 

[justinspicher]

I carry my G17 with a stock mag that has a +4 extension on it, full of buffalo bore hard cast for the woods. 21 rounds for me to deal with the situation. This combo is with me whenever i am in the woods, regardless of what my purpose is there.

As for a spare mag, I generally have at least one in my chest rig.

 

[z987k]

No sidearm if I'm carrying my rifle, but I carry more than the 3+1 on me.

 

[MattB]

If I have a pistol...

I have one mag with hollow points for humans and one mag with hard cast for 4-legged. I will usually leave the hollow point mag in my vehicle while out in the field and swap back once at the vehicle.

When hunting solo on or near the border I will have a pistol on me and typically will have two magazines. This is based upon a prior experience where doing so saved my ass. But if hunting with others, only the rifle goes into the field (unless I bring along my LCP II in 380 which weighs nothing including two mags).

You had an experience near the border where you dumped a mag and had to reload? Do tell.

 

[MattB]

And by the way, which bandoliers are most comfortable under a pack?

 

[JjamesIII]

If I have a pistol...

I have one mag with hollow points for humans and one mag with hard cast for 4-legged. I will usually leave the hollow point mag in my vehicle while out in the field and swap back once at the vehicle.

When hunting solo on or near the border I will have a pistol on me and typically will have two magazines. This is based upon a prior experience where doing so saved my ass. But if hunting with others, only the rifle goes into the field (unless I bring along my LCP II in 380 which weighs nothing including two mags).

Care to share that story? Sounds interesting. If not, I understand the reasons.

 

[JjamesIII]

Is there evidence that hard cast doesn't work on humans in self-defense scenarios? I have seen some hollowpoint tests fail fpr oenetration when the test dummy (we'll call him denim dan) was wearing a few layers of denim. personally, I'd take 15 rnds of hard cast all day long if overpenetration, say inside my home, was not a concern. Just curious to know what's driving that decision.

Right?! Who’s the bad-ass taking hard cast straight through their chest and that determined to keep going? Lol. I’m running from him and I’m running fast!

 

[5MilesBack]

Is there evidence that hard cast doesn't work on humans in self-defense scenarios?

First off......in 40+ years of mountain hunting I've never needed the hollow points or the hard cast, so there's that. Second.......I'm sure the hard cast would do just fine on humans, especially if you had multiple humans lined up in the line of fire. Third......I'm not worried about the hollow points and clothing. And personally in CO I think cats could be more of a threat than bears, and either and/or both would work fine on them.

 

[Rich M]

If I had a Glock with 15+1, a single mag is fine. Guess the best thing to say is not to get too excited and waste shots. Make em count.

That GA dog thing - the bites looks like they are to the back of his legs. Didn't see the jist of the story quickly and moved on. Maybe he was running. Don't run or turn your back at all.

While back a friend of mine was telling me how much he hates running into pit bulls in the woods. Has a story where one dog decided he was fair game and went after him. Guy said he jumped into a bush and the dog didn't know what to do, was stymied by the bush - then he broke his walking stick over the dog's head til it left. I suspect this wouldn't help much with a grizzly bear but dog, human, maybe a black bear may think twice about trying to attack some guy standing in or behind a bush.

 

[5MilesBack]

For practice, I use a lot of 40 s&w or whatever else is cheap in 10 mil, which really ain’t cheap!

When the 10mm first came out there were much fewer choices for ammo and it was pretty expensive for what there was. So when I bought my first 10mm it was with the understanding that I would reload for it. 10mm is the only pistol caliber I reload. I used to reload for a 44 mag but sold that gun as well as the reloading stuff for it. You can actually load some pretty inexpensive rounds that work great at the range, and each time you reload them it gets cheaper by the round when you get multiple firings out of the brass......just like many rifle calibers. And the nice thing about the 10, is that there is a pretty wide range of loads for it......from very mild to full hot loads.

 

[sacklunch]

First off......in 40+ years of mountain hunting I've never needed the hollow points or the hard cast, so there's that. Second.......I'm sure the hard cast would do just fine on humans, especially if you had multiple humans lined up in the line of fire. Third......I'm not worried about the hollow points and clothing. And personally in CO I think cats could be more of a threat than bears, and either and/or both would work fine on them.

Not sure whats up woth the lecture tone...it was a simple question.

But to sum this up...no. No data to support staggering HP with hard cast.

 

[Marbles]

You should carry one reload. As I use a wheel gun, that is 12 rounds total.

The reason is simple, while one hopefully does not, in the heat of a high stress moment some people will pull the trigger until it just clicks. If you have to ask how much to carry, you probably have not been in enough crap situations to know how you will handle it. If you have several miles to get back to the truck, it will be really comforting to have a loaded handgun if you just needed to use it.

I would consider only loading a magazine with 8 to 10 rounds, and keeping 8-10 rounds in a Ziploc. 30 rounds is ridiculous if not expecting combat, and not enough if you are (from a back country weight purspective, not talking EDC).